Quick note

Just a bit behind in time.  We will post the 'Gem of the Week' later today, possibly a few additional interesting posts as well.  For now, we are working on this site in order to bring you the best and new site additions available.  While writing them in / installing them occasionally technical difficulties will happen.  We are working on this blog around the clock currently.   If there is anything you would like to see or read here give us your suggestion.  You can drop us a line via 'comment' or e-mail us.  We appreciate your input and hope to entertain and inform you well.

Bead with a smile

Welcome Sweden

While our flag counter is not yet working to its potential we thought to welcome our new readers in Sweden.  Thank you for your interest and we hope our blog keeps you entertained as well as informed.
We would love to hear from you and share some interesting bead stories from around the world.  Sweden has many wonderful beads and we would enjoy sharing your pictures and new trends with our readers.  Please, feel free to leave us a comment.

Bead today ..

New Quick Tips

We posted a new 'Quick Tips'!  It gives you an idea for a fast pair of earrings.  Imagine, you have a party to go to in two hours.  You need to get ready and expected driving time leave no room for gift shopping.  What will you do?  Everybody has left over beads, some softflex or chain and a pair of ear wires.  We demonstrate for you how you can make an easy and quick pair of earrings in under 20 minutes.  As always, our thoughts are to inspire you for new ideas.  What will you create next?

Happy beading

Answer: THE HOLE TRUTH

Poke the tip of your finger through the hole and use it to push the coin.  You were asked to "push the coin through the hole" and now you have.

                            Me, Myself, &  I
                            By: Robert Allen, page 255

We hope you had as much fun with this puzzle as we did.  Occasionally, it helps to stop and get a new perspective. 

Bead more, bead often

THE HOLE TRUTH

THE HOLE TRUTH

This is a tricky puzzle that tests your power to think laterally.  Logical thinking tends to plod along one step at a time from basic premises to an inevitable conclusion, but lateral thinking delights in tricky maneuvers that keep you on your toes.  In this case the puzzle seems simple enough.  All you do is take a piece of stiff card and cut out whole the size of a small coin ( such as a penny ).  Then take a larger coin ( such as a quarter ) and push it through the hole.  You can handle the card and the coin as much as you like but you mustn't bend or tear the card.  This puzzle will not repay a persistent, painstaking approach.  You will either see the answer in a flash and laugh out loud at it, or probably won't get it at all ( but that won't prevent you trying it out on another innocent victim).

               Me, myself, & I
               By : Robert Allen, page 116



When beading and finding yourself 'stuck' and in need of a break try this!  It is a fun way to stop - regroup and continue with a fresh perspective.  We will post the answer later tonight.

Enjoy the puzzle

In the meantime

The past few days I have been collecting information, pictures, articles and material which we will bring you here.  There are so many ideas, information, facts and pictures to chose from.  It has been exhausting.  We are going to post another 'Quick Tip' video tonight!  Tomorrow we will bring you another 'Gem of the Week'.  There is much material we will write about, some funny, some interesting, some a bit silly.  After all, laughter brings us all together and just releases our 'everyday' stress.
While researching I had found the following puzzle.  It gave me a well deserved break from what I was doing and I could not resist showing it to our team.  We had a wonderful laugh and decided to share the puzzle with you.
Our following post:  The Hole Truth

Bead often.....bead now!

Thinking of you..

We received this postcard from one of our customers. It is nice to know you are thinking of us while thousands of miles away! Bead 'hunting' in different countries can be very exciting. And to discover the special techniques, which are used each place you visit, is very educational and interesting.
We appreciate your thoughts and send our regards.

Sincerely
Your beads of Paradise Team

Beading tip of the day

Never use super glue!  We say it again and again.  Today we tell you what you CAN use super glue for.  When knotting, your thread might break away from the needle as you are stringing your silk through the bead. What to do?  Take a piece of paper and spread a bit of super glue on it.  Quickly take your silk thread and run the end , where the needle used to be, through the glue.  Next, fold a corner of the paper over and glide your wet glue end through the crease.  While doing so, make sure you press on the paper tightly against the thread.  You are removing excess glue and forming a new 'tip'.  Voila, instant needle! - because the super glue is fast hardening.
Go ahead, use super glue ....
                                    ..........for this purpose only!

Paparazzi

These days paparazzi is everywhere even when we do not know it.  As our celebrity clientele grew larger, the paparazzi increased.  Although, most times they do respect our store and space, one must be cautious what to say while the store.  We encourage you to limit your phone conversations in the store.  Kindly put yourself in our shoes.  Scenario:  you are shopping and browsing at our store.  Your receive a call and you are answering it.  Now all the patrons and staff are hearing your responses of your conversation.  That  is especially NOT good when you are speaking about a well known politician and a lunch you may have had.  Not knowing, you are now releasing personal information about your dinner/conversation/personal information.  On the other side: the staff noticing a paparazzi browsing, closing in on your personal space to catch pieces and details of your conversation.  You would certainly like for us to tell you about what is happening since you are not noticing that you just wrote an article for the next day newspaper.  First off, it puts us in an uncomfortable position to tell you we could hear your conversation.  Next - the news that you, unknowingly, gave information to paparazzi.
In most cases, we would try and prevent this from happening.  However, paparazzi is not always apparent to us. 
In addition, there might be times we close and lock the doors if a celebrity is shopping in the store.  In this case, a notice would be posted on the door for how long we might be closed.  This does not happen very often, upon request we adjust our store hours for celebrities so that they can shop freely and leave you free to shop our regular store hours.
In closing, we do not release or print any information about any celebrity, unless we received permission to do so or were asked to do so.  Should you meet an actor/ actress/ celebrity at our store give them their space and privacy, be kind.
We thank the press for all the kind words in the past and hope that our relationship remains as friendly as it has been.  If you are a reporter or paparazzi allow space and privacy to the person of your interest.  You might enjoy beading yourself ....

Keep beading everybody

This just in ......

Our beloved store was saved by the local Fire Department!  A big 'Thank You' to the gentlemen who risk their lives every day for people in need.  A car caught on fire under the hood after having been parked in the same spot for about 20 t o 30 minutes.  Randomly!  A barber from the neighbouring store, Exclusives Hair Studio, attempted to control the damage by pouring huge buckets of water on the car.  The fire only accelerated and proceeded to burst further into flames.  The tires popped and some smaller particles burst into the air.  Just in time, before the imminent explosion, the Fire Department arrived, working quickly and diligently they controlled the fire.  Unfortunately, they could not extinguish the flames without cutting the front of the car apart.  The owner of the car arrived just as the Fire Department broke the doors open and secured her belongings which remained in the car throughout the misfortune.  What a sad moment to witness.  We can only imagine.  We hope the young lady will  recover from this shocking event.
As for the Fire Department and the men who risk their lives: Thank you for your efforts.  It sweetened the otherwise nearly tragic moment when the handsome firefighter walked into the store.  To the firefighters: thank you and thank  you for browsing in our store.  We are reserving a special discount for you with your next purchase or gift.
Above we posted some of the pictures of the unfortunate moment.  Luckily no person or animal was injured.  Our store remained unharmed and  in one piece thanks to the quick response from the firefighting heroes.
We did notice paparazzi in the background, across the street, ready to report the event!  We often wondered where you are hiding.  We SEE you too!  With big lenses and camera bags these men are always on the scene....which brings us to our next post: paparazzi.

Visitors

Super quick post.
We have  more visitors than just three - note the flag section.  We are working on fixing its response problem.  Currently, this blog is being read in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Singapor, South Africa and now The Netherlands.  This blog has a record breaking amount of readers.  We were told it would take much longer to receive this many readers.  By  the way, we encourage you to read and follow as well.  The 'follow' button is located to the right of this post.  By adding the flag section we thought we could share this with you.  However, it is not yet responding the way we hoped.  We are working on it!  If you do not see your flag come up - notify us by leaving a comment in one of the blue 'comment' links right below each blog.

Thank you

Bead on, bead often...

Fall inspiration

Our featured stones this week are Tibetan Agate as well as smaller Carnelian slices. The agate has a very unique design and color. Surely, it will look fantastic in your fall designs.
The Carnelian slices come in a lighter and medium color. They could be used for pendant pieces, smaller ones for earrings, or altogether make a remarkable necklace. Anything can happen when imagination meets a truly outstanding stone. With fall knocking on our doors these colors are just right.
Fall is also the season which brings families together and festivities our way. The new quartz let's you indulge in finer things, inspiring you to design luxurious jewelry.
Get ready, go...

Fresh Breeze

Wow.. It is has been one busy first week for this blog.  Thank you!  We have had many site viewers, from all over the world!  In the coming days we will have a display that shares with you which countries have visited our site.  You welcomed us with open arms and ready to read.  What can I say?  The energy is working strong...

Also, in store news this week:
The Sherman Oaks store has  a fresh new look and soon will feature it throughout the entire store.  To compliment the look we added some new beads ( see pictures above).
We frequently update the stores and rotate the selection of beads.  In order to introduce new beads we removed some items.  That does not mean they are gone for good or we are clearing out!  Change is good.  Cleaning things and moving them around signifies movement of energy.  It is cleansing and leaves room for new new energy to enter, kind of like uncluttering a desk or room.  It feels so good, a fresh breeze.  Breathe in - breathe out... New possibilities!

THE World's Easiest DIET

You'll feel better if you bead well

*     Snack on fruit or nuts whenever you are hungry
*     Order a salad with your meal
*     Once in a while, eat light
*     Skip the quick fixes like sugar and caffeine
*     Drink herbal tea

Most important of all: Use your beads like a meditation. No calls or typing while you bead.

                                                                           Altered quote from: Office Yoga,
                                                                                                          By Darrin Zeer
 
The more you bead,
The less you eat!!

Bead on .....

Gem of the Week

Quartz

We are starting our gem of the Week series with quartz because it is said to be the most powerful and strongest amongst the minerals.
According to Judy Hall, author of The Crystal Bible, quartz is the master healer.  Quartz aids in healing any condition. It balances the body and strengthens it's immune system.  Apparently, quartz soothes burns as well....

(We had a young lady who suffered from burn wounds.  She insisted that only quartz will heal her.  She had given various medical solutions a try and they only worked vaguely.  This woman returned 10 months later to the store and showed off her barely visible scars.  I have to admit that it stunned us.  I am always a bit skeptical and getting quartz would have never entered my mind.  However,  it seemed to have worked for this woman.  A story that I share with caution because I am NOT trying to give any medical advise to anybody.  Yet, it absolutely amazed me to see her results.  I wondered whether it was her believe in the crystal or the crystal itself.  In the end, I have to give credit where it is due.  No matter how she got better - the crystal had something to do with it.. It seems!)

Judy Hall continues:
Quartz harmonizes all the chakras and aligns the subtle bodies.
As for it's energy:
'Quartz is the most powerful healing and energy amplifier on the planet because of it's unique helical spiral crystalline form.  Found worldwide, it absorbs, stores, releases, and regulates energy and is excellent for unblocking it.....
.. Quartz aids concentration and unlocks memory.  Quartz is an energy saver. Attached to a fuel line in a car, a quartz point reduces fuel consumption.
Quartz points have different facet shapes according to how fast they formed. .... '
                Judy Hall
                The Crystal Bible
                Page 224, Quartz

There are many books to read about Quartz and stones.  The Crystal Bible is one of my personal favorites.  It covers the important things.  There are many good books to read on this subject and in case you have an iPhone some really great applications as well.
Here is a small list of informative books on the subject of crystals, minerals and energy:
Books -
Healing Crystals by Michael Gienger,
The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall
iPhone applications -
New Age Stones and Crystals Guide by August Hesse,
Stones and Crystals
By App Core SRL

Now equipped with insight  what a difference it can make to research semi precious stones before using them, you can create pieces that can soar far beyond a gift, a piece of jewelry or decoration.  For some people just touching and receiving the energy from these stones will change and improve their lives.

In addition - it will definitely add a worthy story / experience to anything your creativity will take you to on your bead journey. 

New additions

The holiday season is approaching fast.  As the economy is slowly improving the need to make the most of your resources is still apparent.  We thought of a few things which we can suggest and posted something new.
Introducing: Quick Tips by Beads of Paradise.  Newly added in the upper left hand corner of this page you can find easy and resourceful beading tips from now on.  Go ahead - try it now! 
In addition, we have improved the post  'comment' option for you. 
Currently, the comment section below the post no longer has limited comment options.  We encourage EVERYBODY to leave a comment.  We value your input as well as opinions and can't wait to read what you will share with us.
Another feature is our poll field located in the lower right section.  Our polls are time limited and you will find new poll questions frequently.  Why not give a try  now?.. You can view the vote results instantly.  It is a lot of fun.
As this blog is growing stronger many new things will be introduced.  We are working on new ideas all the time.  We hope you find this blog informative and entertaining and sign up as our followers.  Linked as a follower you will receive notice as soon as a new posting fills our blog page.  To follow us simply click on the follow button positioned to the lower right  of our blog posts.

In the news will be new semi precious stones every week.   'Gem of the Week' is the heading of that feature..  We will give you some background on that stone, its healing abilities and  energy strengths.  This information can aid you when personalizing gifts for your loved ones.  Take your gifts from special and lovely to amazing and one of a kind.

Let's just dive in and have fun!

Cheers

We have a strong number of repeat customers. Have you ever seen the hit TV show Cheers? On some days, it feels just like that! It is uplifting to see our customers walk in happy and ready to engage. One of our customers, who spends many many hours at our store, is Barbara. This young lady is a local jewelry designer.  From prayer beads, bracelets, earrings to rings this artist does it all using several techniques. We fell in love with her collection of beaded rings, shown above in a picture. Barbara is almost a staple at our store and on the days she does not come in - we miss her! She keeps up to date with our new arrivals and has provided a great second opinion on creative choices for our other store patrons, when asked. She is a beautiful version of the TV character 'Norm' on 'Cheers' to us. Customers like her are contributing to the outstanding positive energy at our stores. YOU are important to us. And this positive energy is reflected in your, as well as our, creations.
Barbara's jewelry is available for purchase at her online store at: http://barbarasjewelry.homestead.com/index.html
Thank you Barbara for allowing us to show these pictures and giving us insight into your beaded emporium!

Creative energy

We have many success stories to tell at our store. Some people have made beading a business and some have blossomed with creative energy. Meet Sharon, a wonderful beader who was introduced to beading by her daughter at our store. We joked and let her know the many creative possibilities, 'one can get hooked on beading' we said. Recently Sharon brought in pictures of her beaded necklaces. They are absolutely stunning. She enjoys everything from the bead selection, through the creative process to the pleasure of wearing an item that was lovingly put together. Not to mention the compliments that keep on coming. It is wonderful to see our customers enjoying themselves beading and truly letting go and ranking in the positive energy. Sharon, you are wonderful and we appreciate your business. Thank you for allowing us to take this picture and showcase your creative energy!

beads ... from around the world..

Going home today I was listening to a Nelly Furtado song.  Though it is not my usual style of music I enjoyed this tune.. and then it came to me.  It was the beat in the song that I liked. It was Moroccan / Arabic based.  When I was younger I was fortunate enough to travel to many countries.  Morocco was  one place I will never forget.  The music had me remember the people, smells, the weather, the markets... The many markets!  All  the different items that were available in the streets of Morocco and beads, beads, beads.  I knew what I was going to write about today!

The beads in our store are special.  We do not order them from a catalog or from local vendors.  We travel around the world to various countries.  There, we check for quality not quantity for price.  We inspect color composition and depth, clarity, size, cut and occlusions.  We may buy as few as three strands or as many as 100 +.  This is usually reflected in price.  We  make special connections with the people that work on our beads and at times we are able to get to see and buy beads that may not be available to other vendors. Next time around, the same beads may not be available or only  in reduced quality.  In that case, we will not purchase this item but discover a new fantastic strand of beads.  This makes our store special.  By the time you purchase our beads, and compose your master piece, the beads already tell a story.  The connection between the history of  that bead and its selection enhance your beading projects.  If you do believe in the natural energy in things, our beads come loaded with positive energy and wonderful memories of the places we traveled to.

Because we go the distance and travel the miles to bring you the best in beads we can find, we will not reveal our sources.  We wish you all the best and hope you enjoy your journey to find the best beads.  It is the only and best way to shop for beads and  it makes your beading project(s) truly one of a kind.

Mykah Dash

Who is Mykah Dash and why are we writing about him?

This is a very compelling story - and I could not add it to the previous post.  There are times, which leave a mark in our lives and this such a moment.  At our stores we connect with our customers and through beading are able to guide through rough times as well as good.

Mykah Dash was Mrs. Dash's son.  Mrs. Dash is a wonderful customer at our Sherman Oaks location. 
About a year ago, Mykah, a professional climber, was climbing Mt. Edgar in China.  He, along with two other men, broke away from a group and climbed uncharted territory on that mountain.  It was what they came to do and to test new climbing equipment. An avalanche surprised the three men and ended their lives.  Only two bodies were recently recovered and Mykah's body is remaining undiscovered at Mt. Edgar.  Mrs. Dash has recalled all rescue missions and a ceremony was held in China on behalf of these three men.  During the ceremony, a young Chinese man, left his post and crossed in front of the State Department and military to run to Mrs. Dash and repeated:" Mykah's Mom- I am sorry" over and over.  He was part of the rescue team which  frantically searched for the bodies.  This man was filled with such sorrow for Mrs. Dash - that he was not able to return her son to her.
So, why AM I telling you this story?  Today, Mrs. Dash came in and asked for American made beads.  Upon us asking and suggesting other beads she explained.  Climbers often wear necklaces and on it they wear 'memories' of their climbs and moments in life.  Mrs. Dash will send our American beads to the search crews at Mt. Edgar who diligently searched that mountain for the three climbers.  The American beads will represent Mykah who is now a part of Mt. Edgar in China.  It is a thank you for all their efforts.  Our little beads send an amazing message of gratitude to the rescue teams in China.

Beads do not have to be items that just fit together in a necklace or bracelet.  They can speak for us, express our feelings and emotions.  Beads can compose a gift that speaks for us and can provide long lasting memories.

We thank Mrs. Dash for sharing her story with us and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these three young men who lost their lives at Mt. Edgar in China a year ago.

Gianni Versace

The day started us discussing what to write about and then it just happened... At the Sherman Oaks store we get to see so many interesting and amazing things.  However, today - a show stopper!! Oh my!  I simply have to show you. An original Gianni Versace runway bracelet from the early 80s / late 70s production with stamp.  Modestly priced at $9900.00 upward, it was a show stopper.  With the owner's permission, I took a picture so that I would be able to share it with you here. I do not know if you can see the detail but each square has a light colorful undertone. Magnificent!  It is not everyday that we get to see and touch a piece of history.  Thank you to the owner!

Welcome

While still working on this blog... we will update you on a few things.
Thank you for your interest in our store and word.  It is a lot more work than what we thought - this site.  Now that it is coming together: subscribe and return often.  We will take this journey together and share laughs, pictures and all else along the way.

Continuing tomorrow on Thursday September the 16th 2010 will be the Bead Shop Hop.  30 stores in two weekends .. much to see and explore!  Have you found all the items on  the scavenger hunt yet?  Yes - we are on that list as well.  Good luck!  Our stores provide refreshments and snacks for the Bead Shop Hoppers since it seems the travel this weekend may leave little time for snacks. If this will be your second time visiting our stores while on the 'hunt' you might  find new items in our bead section!
It is fantastic to see this many beaders and all their new projects.  

Give yourselves a big round of applause for all your hard work!